The numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 have increased in area counties.
According to a release from Saline County Health Department Administrator Tara Brewer, the confirmed number of positive cases is 321, with 278 patients recovered and four deaths, leaving 39 active cases.
Numbers are based on case management provided by the health department staff.
Lafayette County Health Department Administrator Tom Emmerson says the health department has a confirmed total of 104 cases of COVID-19 in Lafayette County to date. The number of recovered cases is 80- with three deaths previously reported, leaving 21 active cases.
Emmerson says total cases in Missouri have already been increasing faster and have been increasing rapidly in some of the neighboring counties, and now Lafayette County has increased this week. He says the county is getting cases from social gatherings at private homes and from group meetings.
Emmerson says “Your health department would like to remind everyone it is important to remember that the virus is still prevalent. It is up to us all to take personal responsibility and protect each other. Please use your masks in situations where you cannot maintain a six-foot distance from other people; or even if you are in an enclosed space with other people outside your family at home. It is recommended that you do not invite gatherings of other people into your home.”
Emmerson continues: “Regular cloth facemasks are not to protect you from getting the virus. They work to prevent you from spreading the virus to others. Remember, you can carry the virus without knowing it and not get sick, but other people can get sick, and some die.”
Emmerson concludes: “We are all tired, but this thing is not over! If you are contacted by the health department, please cooperate with quarantine instructions and close-contact identification. It’s the law.”